An 1959 episode of the TV series "Sunday Showcase", which consisted of TV specials. This episode features Jimmy Durante, with special guests Jane Powell, Ray Bolger, Eddie Hodges and Jimmie Rodgers. This special aired on NBC during 1959 in colour, but only a black and white kinescope survives of the telecast.


This movie is part of the collection: Classic TV

Production Company: National Broadcasting Company
Audio/Visual: Sound, Black and White
Keywords: Classic TV; Television; Music; Musical; Jimmy Durante; 50s; 1950s; 50's; 1950's; Fifties; Broadway; NBC; NBC Television Network; National Broadcasting Company; NBC-TV; Masterpoxen;

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Earlon - - February 21, 2010
Subject: A catalog site for Classic TV shows
If you like Classic TV from of the 50's, I found a catalog site that makes it easy to find and watch episodes streaming from Archive.org at:

http://www.solie.org/ClassicTV

There are currently over 400 individual episodes of about 30 different programs, and the site is growing day by day. Check it out!

Reviewer: DJ Psychomike - - June 9, 2009
Subject: The end of an era
These guys were show business. Years on the road, made popular by movies, popular on radio and then TV, lasting for decades. Think about it, how many stars have you liked that simply vanished? It's hard to last a few years in the biz, but a lifetime?

Jimmy lasted a lifetime and pleased all ages, as did Ray Bolger. Check it out, and enjoy.

Reviewer: Noah 8-? - - June 5, 2009
Subject: Air date? 06 December 1959
Soon this program will be every bit of FIFTY years old.

A LOT of these original airdates can be found on IMDB.com; at least closer than just the year of the broadcast.
Noah 8-?

Reviewer: Seto-Kaiba_Is_Stupid - - June 3, 2009
Subject: Tooting My Own Horn
OK, I know I should really stop reviewing my own items (and I have largely stopped for the most part), but I'm making an exception for this broadcast.

This 1959 TV special starts with the cast of the program singing "That's Entertainment". Jimmy Durante then talks about broadway, and is joined by Eddie Hodges, leading to a joke about the "quiz show" scandels. Ray Bolger joins, and this itself leads to a joke about his age, which leads to a performance by these three people of a song about friendship. This is followed by a brief comedy segment, which is actually the intro for "I Could Have Danced All Night", performed by Jane Powell. Of course, this itself is followed by a Sheaffer "PFM" commercial. A rather lackluster comedy sketch involving chroma key and fashion follows (I'm pretty sure it's Chroma Key, I could be wrong). Jimmy Durante and Jane Powell then demonstrate player-pianos, before Jimmy complains that music "must come from the heart", which leads to the two singing bits from a song, then a full performance of "You Gotta Have Heart", though the picture quality gets quite poor during this segment, the sound is fine. Jimmie Rodgers and Jimmy Durante then procede to mock "Waltzing Matilda", with Mr Durante calling it "Australia's answer to Mack the Knife". Jimmie Rodgers then gives a much more sincere performance of "Tucumcari", a country-pop song, though the picture quality gets very poor during this segment, again the sound is fine. Ray Bolger then does am enjoyable dance number with a Jazzy musical background. A comedic segment featuring Ray playing the drums follows, which itself is followed by another Sheaffer Pen commercial. This itself is followed by a large tribute to George M. Cohan, featuring performances of "The Yankee Doodle Boy", "Mary Is a Grand Old Name", and "Harrigan". The show ends with a reprise of "That's Entertainment", a 3rd Sheaffer Pen commercial, and closing credits.